Gerrard plays down comparisons with Smith and Advocaat
Celtic manager feels Rangers have been treated differently
STEVEN Gerrard has dismissed comparisons with Dick Advocaat and Walter Smith and insisted he doesn’t deserve to be mentioned alongside the legendary former Rangers managers – because he hasn’t lifted a trophy to date in his coaching career.
Gerrard moved alongside Smith in the Ibrox record books on Thursday night when he oversaw his 23rd European victory as manager on an extraordinary evening in Flanders.
The Glasgow club came from behind twice in the second-half of the Europa League last-32 first-leg tie and triumphed 4-3 thanks to a last-minute Borna Barisic penalty to give themselves an excellent chance of progressing to the last-16 for the second year running.
The former Liverpool and England midfielder’s side are currently 15 points clear of Celtic at the top of the Premiership table and are set to win the Scottish title for the first time in 10 years in the coming weeks.
But Gerrard, whose side take on Dundee United at home in the league tomorrow, has baulked at being mentioned in the same breath as Advocaat and Smith, who has been a source of constant and advice and support during his time in Glasgow, because of his lack of silverware to date.
“First and foremost, I have nothing but respect for Walter Smith, Dick Advocaat and all the other managers who have gone before me,” he said. “But I don’t deserve to be in the same conversation as those managers because they have been successful Rangers managers. I haven’t.
“We are really proud of our record in Europe and what the team have given. We want to finish this job off next week and then hopefully have a chance to go a step further than last year. It’s always about trying to raise the level.
“But when people talk about history and breaking records, it doesn’t really interest me, although I have nothing but major respect for Walter Smith. He has been fantastic for me. He’s been sort of an
unofficial mentor. He was in to see me a couple of times before lockdown and I know he’s at the end of the phone any time I need him. That experience for me is crucial.”
Advocaat and Smith both enjoyed spells of domestic dominance during their times in charge at Ibrox due in no small part to the personnel they had at their disposal. The latter will doubtless have stressed the importance of having a strong squad to Gerrard during their regular chats.
The game against Antwerp on Thursday evening underlined
the 40-year-old now has the back-up that he requires to challenge for honours domestically and compete on the continent regardless of injuries and suspensions.
He lost key men James Tavernier and Kemar Roofe in the first-half. But Leon Balogun and Ryan Kent replaced them and his charges continued to perform at a high level. Ianis Hagi and Ryan Jack then came on in the second-half and helped the visitors to stage a late fightback and triumph.
“I think we’re showing the strength and depth we’ve got here,” said Gerrard. “Jacko has been incredible since he’s come back from his injury. I’d like to play Jacko every minute of every game. He’s that type that you need in your team.”
Gerrard’s preparations for the match against Antwerp were disrupted when five of his players were fined by Police Scotland and forced to selfisolate for breaking Covid-19 lockdown restrictions.
He was, though, grateful to the players who were available for selection for their professionalism.
“All in all, assessing the week we’ve had, I’m so proud of the players for adapting and showing grit to get the job done,” he said. “We’ve got a fantastic dressing room. I can’t praise them enough.
“It’s just a shame that there are certain people who have let that down of late.”
NEIL LENNON says that the Scottish Government are hypocrites, as they have treated Celtic differently to Rangers after players from both clubs were found to have breached Covid-19 regulations.
Celtic had two games suspended when their player Boli Bolingoli took a trip to Spain without their knowledge last August, with the full-back subsequently sent out on loan to Turkish side Istanbul Basaksehir.
However, the Scottish Government did not intervene when Rangers players George Edmundson and Jordan Jones were found to have breached restrictions by attending a house party in November, a stance they have again adopted as five Rangers players were also found to have attended a house party last weekend.
Lennon was also unhappy about the treatment of Celtic following their training trip to Dubai in January, and held an explosive press conference after being placed in isolation along with two other members of his coaching staff and 13 players upon his return to the country.
When asked if he felt the inconsistencies in the government’s approach to both clubs was odd, Lennon replied: “Odd? Hypocritical. I could use a lot of words. But I’m not going to because I don’t want the story to be about me. I have come out and called it as I saw it. And people have thrown all sorts back at me. But my conscience was clear at the time [of the post-Dubai press conference] and still is.
“And I don’t want to take the government on again but you can tell there is a bit of discontent there.
“There just seemed to be a different tack to when [First Minister Nicola Sturgeon] was speaking about us. The fact she brought us into the answer [when asked about the Rangers players] sort of baffled me as well.”